It is a modern but nevertheless long term trend to try to reduce as much as possible consumers daily diet in terms of fat or lipidic caloric content. As fats and oils still remain necessary for organoleptic purposes such as thickness, smoothness substituting same by some natural equivalent but less caloric food material is not an easy task. Such replacement food materials must prove stable and compatible with the other coingredients, as well as the remaining portion of fats or oils in the concerned foodstuffs.
Thus, despite the many previous attempts which have been proposed in this respect the food industry is still looking for cheap and easy solutions to that problem.
Although lactic fermentation is known since long, its main use is dairy food products. In a few cases, however, lactic fermentation was also applied to non-dairy products such as cereals or cereal based food materials.
WO-A- 91/17672 discloses a food product containing dietary fiber and a method for making same. This method comprises lactic fermentation, based substantially on cereal bran, and leads to a presumed nutritionally beneficial and tasty product which further contains living microorganisms. The method provides more specifically an easy-to-use fiber rich food product including a significant amount of living Lactobacilli. Obviously such a product would not cope with the aim of the invention.
GB-A-2092878 refers to a process for producing African native beer which comprises fermenting a liquid cereal extract to which has been added dairy whey. The resulting beverage, once conveniently sterilized and packed, is then used as such: it is defined as nourishing, non-alcoholic, pleasant tasting, shelf-stable and refreshing.
There is in fact no indication or suggestion that such solid or liquid food products would meet the goals defined hereinabove.